Tag Archives: cauliflower

If you love hot and spicy food, you are in for a real treat. This unassuming little dish of pickled vegetables will fire up your taste buds. My Mexican Style Pickled Vegetables is a wonderful combination of marinated bright orange carrots, crunchy cauliflower and smoking hot Serrano peppers. I like to serve my Mexican Style Pickled Vegetables whenever I make homemade tacos, burritos or enchiladas.

Serrano Peppers. Use gloves when slicing these little bad boys… Also, be sure to not touch your eyes or nose after working with these peppers. Wash your hands well after working with the peppers. Trust me. You will not like what they will do to you. I made that mistake once. If you can’t handle the heat from the Serranos in the dish, you can dial it down by simply adding milder peppers instead.

My Mexican Style Pickled Vegetables is not only easy to make but vegan too. Next time you serve Mexican cuisine at your home, be sure to make a batch of these pickled vegetables to serve along side your favorite dishes. Enjoy! Tessa

Ingredients:

1 pound carrots

1 pound cauliflower

3 Serrano peppers

1 1/2 cup white vinegar

1 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

4 bay leaves

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black peppercorns

1 Tbs minced garlic

Begin by washing and peeling the carrots. Slice diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside. Wash and cut the cauliflower into bite sized florets and set aside with the carrots. Trim the tops of the peppers and cut into 1/2 inch sized pieces. In a non reactive pan, add vinegar, water, sugar, bay leaves, salt and black peppercorns. Bring vinegar mixture to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Add garlic, Serrano peppers, carrots and cauliflower. Cook for an additional 3 – 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. Be sure to let the vegetables sit in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours before serving. The longer it sits in the refrigerator, the spicier it gets. This makes a pretty good sized batch, so feel free to cut the recipe in half. Makes about a quart and a half of spicy pickled vegetables.

There are times when I just want a bowl of soup. Just soup… No sandwich, no salad, not even crackers. Just a bowl of something warm and soul soothing. My easy to make cauliflower bisque was just the ticket. It’s made with fresh picked cauliflower, onions, garlic, coriander and a bit of cream to give it a velvety texture.

While my cauliflower was cooking away on the stove, I grabbed my camera and headed outside. I had only a few minutes before I needed to get back to my dish. As soon as I opened my back door and stepped out on the patio, the smell of lilacs caught my attention…

Lilacs are some of my all time favorite flowers. I love the light purple color and the sweet scent. They are lovely in a vase.

Petunias in a hanging basket. The gold color reminds me of sunshine…

My mother gave me this Dogwood tree a few years back… Notice that the flower has only four petals? I think that it is simply gorgeous…

I had only a few minutes to spare before my cauliflower was done so I stopped by my pot of fresh chives. They are almost ready to bloom! I snipped a few after I took this photo for garnish on my soup. Now back to the kitchen…

My Cauliflower Bisque takes about a half an hour to make and is just delicious. Garnish with fresh snipped chives and grated cheddar cheese. Wrap your hands around a warm creamy bowl of my Cauliflower Bisque and enjoy! Tessa

Begin by tossing all ingredients except for heavy cream, salt and garnishes in a covered saucepan. Cook on medium low for about 20 minutes until the cauliflower is tender. Take a hand blender and blend until smooth. Add cream and salt to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese and fresh snipped chives. Makes about 4 servings.